No one charges me less money for anything because I am a woman. If everything costs me the same as it does men, we should be paid the same!Nancy, Chicago

Pledge Today

If you believe that in America we should all be able to make it work, join our community. Urge public officials and leaders to support solutions to these issues that help all of us “make it work”. That means paid leave and sick days, high quality and affordable care for children and other loved ones, and equal pay for men and women. Read More

Share

Equal Pay

Today, more women are the main breadwinners for their families than ever before. But on average, employers still pay women 79 cents to every white man’s dollar. Black women earn 60 cents on the dollar (as compared to white men) and Hispanic women earn 55 cents on the dollar (as compared to white men). At this rate, women in the United States won’t see equal pay until 2059. We’re slated to have flying cars and humans on Mars first (no joke).

Without solutions that address the problem, we’re not just lagging behind – we’re staying behind. That means we need to sprint forward as fast as possible to catch up.

Knowledge is power. We’re calling for solutions that make information about pay more available so women know when they’re paid less.

As a result of last year’s Sony hack, which revealed unequal pay between male and female actors, Charlize Theron was able to negotiate a raise (more than $10 million dollars, to be exact) to get paid the same as her The Huntsman male co-star, Chris Hemsworth. Years earlier, Lilly Ledbetter fought in court because for two decades, she was paid less than men who did the same work she did at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. She only found out that she was paid less all those years because a colleague sent her an anonymous note. We shouldn’t have to rely on anonymous tipsters to reveal these disparities. Pay data should be available so employees can make sure they’re earning a fair wage, and to deter discriminatory practices.

We’re not talking about revealing people’s individual salaries—we’re talking about a public database that shows how much employers pay for different types of jobs broken down by sex, race and ethnicity. With this sort of data available, everyone can see whether they’re making a fair wage.

Congress should also pass thePaycheck Fairness Act, which would stop employers from retaliating against employees who share information about their wages, and would hold employers who do discriminate accountable.

Congress should also pass legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour and create one fair wage, rather than a separate wage for tipped workers. This is key for addressing the gender pay gap. Right now, two-thirds of people paid minimum wage are women. So are two-thirds of tipped workers. Add in the fact that women are the breadwinners in 80 percent of single-parent households, and that means women and families across the United States are struggling to make it work.

Make It Work is the education arm of our campaign working to advance economic security for women, men and families across the country. America is ready for common sense workplace policies and ambitious solutions that will help people across the country “make it work.” To that aim, Make It Work is changing the conversation about work and family in this country.

Make It Work Action (MIWA) is the nonpartisan advocacy arm of Make It Work. MIWA engages in activities, including voter education, candidate “birddogging” and impacting public policy.

MIWA is championing new policy solutions to help families make it work — and working to ensure that public officials and candidates are doing the same. To take all this from pipe dream to policy, MIWA is working hard to hold public officials and candidates accountable to everyday people. That includes organizing in the states – partnering with strong local organizations and in places where the 2016 presidential contest unfolds.